Council approves rules for new city skate park

Visitors to the new City of Santa Monica skate park — scheduled to open in June — will have to follow certain rules and regulations if they intend to use the skating facility.

The Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved the rules and regulations Tuesday, April 12th, for the new city skate park at Memorial Park, on 14th Street between Olympic and Colorado Boulevards.

City officials said the rules and regulations are to promote the safe public use of the skating facility. The new skate park is designated for skateboarding, bicycle riding and in-line skating.

An opening day ceremony for the new skate park is scheduled for Friday, June 17th.

The design and construction of the 20,000-square-foot municipal skate park was approved by the City Council in March 2003.

Funding for the skate park facility was authorized by the City Council in response to strong community support for a state-of-the-art safe venue for the popular recreational activity, city officials said.

“Santa Monica is the birthplace of extreme skating and we are still a center of the sport and a community where many people enjoy skating for both recreation and transportation,” Santa Monica Councilman Kevin McKeown said.

Users of the new skate park must first pay an annual registration fee and can then choose to buy either a three-month pass or a daily pass.

The new skate park use fees are:

n Santa Monica resident under 18 years old: $10 annual registration fee; $20 for a quarterly pass; or $3 for a daily pass.

n weekdays during the school year, September to June, from 3 p.m. to dusk, and

n during summer weekdays and year-round on weekends from 11 a.m. to dusk.

Representatives from the city Risk Management Department, the city attorney’s office, the Santa Monica Police Department and the city Community and Cultural Services Department met and negotiated rules for the new skate park.

Signs stating the skate park rules will be placed at locations throughout the skate park. Site staff will monitor and enforce the rules and regulations, city officials said.

According to the adopted rules for the facility, all skate park participants must register to use the skate park and sign an agreement to comply with the rules and regulations.

Skaters under 18 years old must have their registration signed by a parent or guardian.

Participants must be at least six years of age to use the facility, and all skaters must have a day use pass or a skate park quarterly pass.

Other rules and regulations include:

n helmets, kneepads and elbow pads must be worn in the park;

n participants skate or bike at their own risk;

n spectators are not permitted in the park; and

n shirts, shoes and clothing must be worn at all times.

At the council meeting Tuesday, April 12th, McKeown suggested an amendment to the rule that prohibits skating on park curbs, sidewalks, parking lot or entrance sidewalk — because many participants will choose to skate to the park.

“In my younger days as a skater, I used it as a form of transportation,” he said, saying that skaters should be allowed to skate at the park’s entrance.

The City Council chose to reword the rule to support using skates for transportation to the park, but the city still prohibits tricks and other potentially dangerous or destructive skating outside the park boundaries.